The last 19 years have been one heck of a ride, but no matter what, I always had an important person by my side: my mother. I don't think I gave her enough praise while growing up for endless things she has done for me, but this Mother's Day I want her to know exactly how much she means to me. So mom, I have a few things to thank you for:

Thank you for the countless car rides. I constantly needed to go to school, rehearsal or a friend's house at the speed of lightning. You were the reason I always got there just in time.

Thank you for taking care of me. I don't just mean taking care of me when I was stuck in bed with the flu and needed someone to bring me soup. I also mean when I was having a bad day or when I felt nervous, you were there to calm me down. I depended on you tremendously for that, and you never failed. You will never understand how much that has meant to me.

Thank for listening to me ramble every day. I admit that sometimes I talk too much, but you always stood there and listened to me babble on about what I ate for lunch or the craziest drama I found out while I was eating lunch. I liked telling you about my day, including the most mundane parts.

Thank you for constantly putting my needs over your own. You could have slept in instead of picking me up from school or bought yourself a new outfit instead of a new sweater for me. You never stopped making sacrifices. There were times where you thought I didn't notice much of this, but believe me, I noticed.

Thank you for making sure I had every opportunity possible to be successful. I wanted to participate in an advanced journalism program during my senior year of high school and you made sure that was possible. I wanted to move to a big city and you made sure that was possible. I plan on studying abroad and you are making sure that is possible. With you, everything is possible.

Thank you for being the "cool" mom. Yeah mom, you're pretty cool. You're the mom everyone wishes the could call their own. Whenever someone meets you for the first time they can't help but smile. You make everyone feel welcome and special. Plus, you have an Instagram account, which is also very cool.

Thank you for doing your best to make sure I was always happy. Not every day was good, but you made the bad days better. You taught me that in the end everything will work itself out; everything will be okay. I keep that lesson in mind every day.